I have noticed the difference in how I feel in the master bedroom and in the guest bedroom at the unit I am renting now in British Columbia. Though the master bedroom is bigger in size, I find myself feeling more open and “free” in the guest bedroom. I finally figured out the reason is the high ceiling of the guest bedroom.
The ceilings are high and shaped like a chalet. The living/dining room on the first floor (left) has a very high ceiling with the fan on top. The bedrooms on the second floor (below) have ceilings, quite high compared with that in Japan, but the shape is different.
It is amazing how different you feel depending on the physical setup. Even though you do not look up to the ceiling all the time, you feel some difference. I sometimes felt “closed-in” when I go back to Japan and wondered why. I figured it was due to the relatively low ceilings prevalent in Japan.
I continue to be amazed at the impact of physical distance and layout. It is also very interesting to find how much of an influence the weather and natural environment has on architecture. You tend to find similar architecture and houses in the places with similar weather patterns, no matter which country you are visiting. (Now I am getting interested in architecture!)
Yoko Ishikura is a Professor at Hitotsubashi University ICS in the Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy in Japan. She has held positions as a professor at the School of International Politics, Economics and Business of Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo, as a consultant at McKinsey and Company Inc. Japan and a visiting professor at Darden School.
Professor Ishikura is a consultant to a number of multinational companies and has been a frequent speaker at management conferences, seminars, and workshops throughout the world. She was a member of the Regulatory Reform Committee for the Japanese government and the International Competitiveness Commission for METI. She is currently a Forum Fellow of the World Economic Forum.
She is the author of Strategic Shift from OR choices to AND paradigm, Building Core Skills of Organization , and the co-author of the following publications: Managing Diversity in the 21st Century, Strategy for Cluster Initiatives in Japan , and Building a Career to the World Class Professionals – all in Japanese. Her books in English include: Asian Advantage, Hitotsubashi on Knowledge Management and Trust and Antitrust in Asian Business Alliances.
Professor Ishikura’s current research interests are focused on global competition, innovation, and knowledge management. She received her BA from Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan; MBA from Darden School, University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia; and DBA from Harvard Business School.
